Caller ID Is Coming: Beware! : Come June 1, dialing may tell more about you than you’d like

The telephone is an indispensable but increasingly perplexing tool of modern life. So many choices. You sign up for a new long-distance phone service because Candice Bergen or Whoopi Goldberg seem so amusing in those TV commercials. Now comes a new challenge: Caller ID.

Should your phone number be flashed to whomever you are calling? That will happen as of June 1 when Caller ID becomes available in California, unless consumers specifically tell their phone company to block transmission of their numbers. Already, callers dialing an 800 or 900 number automatically reveal their numbers. But beginning in June, a call to any phone equipped with Caller ID will automatically transmit and reveal the originating number. Neat technology or a privacy crasher?

In California the issue is the latter, because more than 50% of the state’s consumers have unlisted numbers specifically for privacy. What can a telephone number reveal? Plenty. For businesses, Caller ID can connect incoming calls with a database that produces a caller profile. That information can be used to compile lists for telemarketers or junk mailers without a caller’s knowledge. With a phone number, a reverse directory can be used to find the address and name of callers with listed numbers.

If the California Public Utilities Commission had its way, all phone lines would be blocked all the time unless customers took action to unblock them. But the Federal Communications Commission maintained that California’s total block, which the state’s phone companies opposed, was too stringent. The state sued to overturn the FCC decision but a federal appellate ruled in favor of the softer federal position in January. Now the state commission is wisely appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The PUC has ordered Pacific Bell and GTE to conduct a massive public education campaign to inform customers about Caller ID. Since the campaign began in mid-February, both companies have had to add extra operators to handle the thousands of inquiries. For some users, Caller ID provides a way to screen incoming calls. Adding Caller ID requires an activation fee, monthly charge and a telephone or accessory with digital readout, all of which means new business for the phone companies.

For a user wanting to keep a measure of control over his or her phone number, especially if it is unlisted, these are the options:

* To block transmission of your number, you must notify the telephone company.

* To selectively block calls, dial *67 before placing a call on a touch-tone phone or 1167 on a rotary phone.

* To unblock a blocked line on selective calls, dial *82 before placing a call on a touch-tone phone or 1182 on rotary phone.

Callers beware: The phone companies are telling the PUC that even with the company’s education campaigns, 35% to 65% of phone users won’t be aware of Caller ID. Shameful.